Locksley Resources Maps Path to Grow Copper Resource in Greater Tottenham
Key Takeaways
- Locksley holds a 9.86 Mt JORC 2012 resource at Tottenham grading 0.73% Cu, 0.22 g/t Au and 2 g/t Ag, giving its strategy a defined base.
- Tenure of about 1,000 km² and more than 50 km of identified prospective trends set up district-scale growth, though those trends remain to be tested.
- The Iron Duke option adds a historical JORC 2004 inferred 1.3 Mt at 1.0% Cu, 15 km by road from Mount Royal, but it is not a current resource.
- An independent MRE described as near-complete will set a unified baseline across Tottenham and Iron Duke, and is the nearest catalyst.
- A drilling sequence update is due in the coming weeks, but no dates, metres or budgets have been disclosed.
Locksley outlines Greater Tottenham copper growth strategy across 1,000 km²
In its October 2026 strategy update, Locksley Resources (ASX: LKY) outlined a focused Australian copper strategy centred on the Greater Tottenham Copper District in central New South Wales. The direction follows the acquisition of an option over Iron Duke.
Management said it has completed a portfolio review to prioritise capital toward opportunities with demonstrated scale, resource definition and near-term value accretion potential. For you as an investor, the update shows where the company intends to focus its spending.
Key figures from the announcement include:
- Tottenham: JORC 2012 Mineral Resource of 9.86 Mt @ 0.73% Cu, 0.22 g/t Au and 2 g/t Ag
- Iron Duke: historical JORC 2004 inferred Mineral Resource of 1.3 Mt @ 1.0% Cu and 0.6 g/t Au
- Tenure: approximately 1,000 km² across Greater Tottenham
- Prospective trends: more than 50 km identified through geological and geophysical interpretation, to be assessed through further exploration and target evaluation
A defined resource base paired with district-scale ground gives the company a platform for growth. The Iron Duke figure is a historical estimate, not a current JORC 2012 resource.
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Two-pillar strategy targets resource growth and economic viability
The strategy rests on two pillars. One aims to grow the resource base through targeted drilling, while the other aims to raise the value of each tonne already defined.
Pillar 1: Resource growth
This pillar focuses on expanding the Mineral Resource base by targeting extensions to known copper-gold systems. The workstreams are:
- Testing extensions to the Carolina high-grade mineralisation.
- Testing Mount Royal and Orange Plains extensions and reviewing potential opportunities arising from the updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE).
- Re-evaluating Bogan River based on MRE outcomes.
- Re-modelling, ranking and prioritising the highest conviction brownfields geophysical and geochemical targets for drilling.
- Advancing drilling at Iron Duke and exploration programmes at Christmas Gift.
Pillar 2: Increasing economic viability
The second pillar targets the quality, confidence and potential economic viability of each resource tonne. Workstreams include:
- Metallurgical testwork across oxide, supergene and fresh sulphide domains.
- Pit optimisation and mineability studies.
- Transport and regional processing assessments.
- Permitting and environmental baseline work.
- Assessment of toll treatment, campaign processing and other infrastructure options.
Metallurgy tests how well copper can be recovered from the rock. Together, these streams show the company is working to lift value per resource tonne, not only the number of tonnes.
Resource baseline table
| Project | Resource | Grade | Code | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 9.86 Mt | 0.73% Cu, 0.22 g/t Au, 2 g/t Ag | JORC 2012 | Existing baseline for the project |
| Iron Duke | 1.3 Mt | 1.0% Cu, 0.6 g/t Au | Historical JORC 2004 (inferred) | Historical resource estimate |
Independent Mineral Resource Estimation work is underway and is intended to establish a unified, current reporting baseline across the combined Greater Tottenham project areas. The company describes the independent MRE as near-complete.
What is a brownfields copper strategy?
Brownfields exploration means searching near known deposits and old workings. Greenfields exploration means drilling untested ground with no known mineralisation nearby.
Carolina sits within a Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphide (VHMS) corridor. VHMS mineralisation forms where volcanic activity on the seafloor deposited metal-rich sulphide minerals. A Mineral Resource Estimate is a formal calculation of how much mineralisation a deposit contains and at what grade, so it sets the baseline for everything that follows.
Building on known mineralisation and more than 20 years of geophysical, geochemical and geological data typically lowers exploration risk relative to untested ground. It does not remove that risk.
Brownfields growth centres underpin the pipeline
The strategy is built around known mineralised centres, near-resource extensions and unresolved geophysical targets. The company has compiled decades of drilling, assays, resource models and geophysical datasets to refine targeting.
- Carolina: the highest-grade cornerstone of the Tottenham resource, open down-plunge and northward.
- Mount Royal–Orange Plains: contributes the majority of metal to the 9.86 Mt JORC (2012) Tottenham Mineral Resource, with high-grade sulphide lenses open along strike and down dip. Effies Ace is a priority regional target with strong magnetic and EM responses along the same corridor.
- Bogan River: a previously defined, shallow, high-grade near-surface copper prospect.
- Underlay / Ace / Railway Forest: historical workings and geophysical data currently being reprocessed and integrated to develop the next phase of drill targets.
- Iron Duke / Christmas Gift: 15 km by road from Mount Royal and 50 km from the Mineral Hill processing plant. The historical resource spans a ~550 m area, with no completed modern drilling around historical workings in the south or across the 6 km of prospective mineralised strike.
The company’s Figure 4 is a conceptual illustration of compiled datasets. It is not to scale and is not representative of confirmed mineralisation or Mineral Resources.
For readers wanting the background to the option deal, our full explainer on the Iron Duke acquisition sets out the project’s Cobar district setting, its historical resource and the rationale for adding it to the Locksley portfolio.
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Near-term catalysts and next steps
Locksley intends to advance four workstreams across Greater Tottenham:
- Advance MREs and target definition across Tottenham and Iron Duke.
- Prepare a staged drilling programme, progressing approvals, access and contractor arrangements.
- Commence drilling at selected growth areas, subject to the required approvals and access.
- Advance metallurgical work on existing drill core and early-stage assessment of potential development options.
The company expects to update investors on the sequencing of drilling programmes in the coming weeks. The announcement did not disclose drilling dates, metres or budgets.
Ian Stockton, Technical Director
“The independent Mineral Resource Estimate will provide a contemporary technical baseline to guide targeted drilling and supporting studies toward potential development options…”
The MRE and the drilling sequence are the likeliest near-term news-flow triggers for you to watch. The company has said it will provide updates as key milestones are achieved.
Ready to Explore Locksley’s Greater Tottenham Copper District?
Locksley Resources is pursuing a brownfields copper strategy across roughly 1,000 km² in central New South Wales, backed by a 9.86 Mt JORC 2012 resource at Tottenham and the Iron Duke option. An independent resource estimate and a staged drilling programme are the next milestones to watch.
Investors can explore the Locksley Resources company page for the latest announcements, project details and updates as the Greater Tottenham strategy unfolds.